Pakikisama? Find out how ‘Mutya’ figured in Gokongwei son-in-law’s ouster from Manila Golf

Manila’s high society was surprised why the son-in-law of bilyonaryo John Gokongwei, Perry Pe, had to quit as president of the ultra-elite Manila Golf Club just a few months in office.

Surprise, however, quickly turned into shock after word leaked that Pe’s resignation had something to do with the country’s Number 2-rated annual beauty contest, “Mutya ng Pilipinas,” where he sat as board member.

Our Babbler told us that the Manila Golf board got wind of disturbing news on Pe’s alleged bad behavior from a letter complaint filed by two of its members last January 5.

The letter bared how Pe tried to squeeze out a donation from a business executive (BE) applying for membership.

Shortly after BE’s application was posted for vetting by members last July, Pe sent a series of disturbing text messages to BE through his executive secretary, where he asked for as much as P2 million in donation for the Mutya pageant on August 4, 2017. Pe texted that he himself donated P3 million for the beauty annual and that he wanted to meet BE personally to convince him.

BE, however, politely refused to meet Pe and his persistent request for a Mutya donation, noting that beauty pageants were not his cup of tea. BE said that if it was for a golf charity event, he could part with P1 million.

Pe continued to dog BE, who finally relented and agreed to donate P200,000 from his own pocket for the sake of “pakisama” because his board scoffed at the Mutya donation.

Gokongwei’s son-in-law, however, was not satisfied and made a “huling hirit” to BE about raising his donation to P500,000, with specific instructions to make Mutya ng Pilinas Inc. as payee.

Long story short, BE had to wait an extra month and make a follow-up before the Manila Golf board could act on his application.

Although BE finally got his membership card in September 21, his two backers felt that Manila Golf needed to know about Pe’s “highly unethical and unusual” requests to BE.

“During the entire process of the application, it was our inherent belief that any member of the Board of Directors, more so the President himself, should not be asking any monetary considerations or any form of ‘donation’ from any applicant as this can be misconstrued as extortion, even in the name of ‘pakikisama’,” BE’s backers said.

This latest and most explosive complaint against Pe apparently left the gods of the country’s richest golf club with no choice but to let him go and appoint Palawan Gov. Pepito Alvarez as the new president.

Those in the know said BE’s complaint is just the last straw in a series of grievances against the 56-year old lawyer who is also the chair Steniel Manufacturing Corp., a director of Araneta Properties Inc. and SingLand. By the way, he used to be president of the Management Association of the Philippines.